When/where/how did Bruce and Selina meet?

Around the end of the [i]KnightFall[/i] and the beginning of [i]KnightQuest[/i], a reference is made to a single meeting between Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle prior to the one shown in [i]Catwoman #2[/i] during the [i]Lifelines[/i] story arc -[i]Chapter Two: Blast From the Past[/i]; on the Waynetech plane to Santa Prisca Selina and Bruce reminisce about dancing at a charity ball for the Children With Aids Foundation.

I'm not much for all these stupid retcons, so I haven't read [i]Zero Hour[/i]. But it must've changed much, as Bruce and Selina date just after [i]Year One[/i] during [i]The Long Halloween[/i] storyline.

Is there an actual story of when, where and how they met at this point?

I only really know the Golden Age version, where Robin captured Catwoman and Batman let her go because he was instantly attracted to her. Robin was very confused and Batman tried to change the subject by saying "Hmm, nice night isn't it." Funny as hell and classic representation of the golden age Batman, who was a complete and utter moron at times and not to mention a total jerk.

I do know the scene in Knightfall you are referencing though. Selina stowed away on Bruce and Alfred's private jet. I believe she introduced herself in that scene and Bruce didn't seem to know who she even was.

As with the New 52, Crisis on Infinite Earths and Zero Hour, things were 'basically the same unless told otherwise'. When the Long Halloween was released, it retconned chunks of Batman/Catwoman's history.

There may be a Catwoman issue showing Bruce/Selina meeting for the first time (in Long Halloween continiuty), as I'm not as familiar with that volume of CW, but it's likely something that was mentioned but never specifically shown.

For post-Crisis/pre-New52, I think Bruce and Selina first met in Batman #404 1987-02 (aka Batman Year One) in Gotham's East End, the worst of Gotham's bad neighborhoods. Bruce, in disguise but not in the Batsuit yet, went in to do some good against bad guys and he quickly got in a fight with Selina's pimp. During the fight, Holly stabbed Bruce's leg and Bruce hurt/broke Holly's wrist. That brought Selina into the fight. She knew some karate but he knocked her out.

Their first post-Crisis/pre-New52 meeting as Batman and Catwoman was in Catwoman Volume1 #3 1989-04 in Her Sister's Keeper. Selina's pimp had her sister hostage and as Selina attacked Stan, they both fell. Selina thought they both died but Batman had swooped in to save Maggie. Their first kiss was in the next issue.

Its one of those things they like retconning...a lot!

[QUOTE=exile001;693257]but it's likely something that was mentioned but never specifically shown.[/QUOTE]

I'm curious as to the first time Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle meet not wearing their Batman and Catwoman costumes. Anyone know if that was shown in any of the Bat books?

[QUOTE=bat39;695912]Its one of those things they like retconning...a lot![/QUOTE]

Basically, it keeps changing with the various writers takes on the relationship. Between "Year One" and that "Knightfall" meeting they have three distinct "first" meetings in the Post Crisis continuity. And as others say, "The Long Halloween" contradicts that!

[QUOTE=goof;1473529]I'm curious as to the first time Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle meet not wearing their Batman and Catwoman costumes. Anyone know if that was shown in any of the Bat books?[/QUOTE]

There are a lot of first meeting and I don't think anyone completely has their cards on the table as far as who know what about whom and when they met. I don't think people want to to tie that down.

Almost as confusing as what Selina did before she became Catwoman from what I recall...was she a dominatrix, a socialite, or a street thief?

I'm always gonna side with Year One and Long Halloween or the Golden Age over Knightfall on this. Knightfall's changes were probably motivated by Batman Returns and anyway....Knightfall is about Batman, Bane, and Azrael and less about Catwoman, so that scene deserves to be ignored more as an anomaly. Long Halloween happened later anyway (and it became canon, even though Loeb probably didn't care about that one way or another when he wrote it).

Anyway someone did an article on all this:
[url]http://www.toonzone.net/forums/threads/timeline-of-the-various-batman-catwoman-romances-1st-draft.3987671/[/url]

Thanks for the article JBat! I'm going to let my daughter read it. She wanted to know more about the Bruce / Selina relationship after watching the Gotham TV show.

For whatever reason: Pre and Post-COIE, Catwoman's chronology has been an inconsistent weird mess. I have this fantastic well researched magazine article at home that addressed all her pre-COIE contradictions about finding about Bruce's ID and such.

It was this one:
[url]http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=884[/url]

[QUOTE=JBatmanFan05;1474435]It was this one:
[url]http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=884[/url][/QUOTE]

Another great article. Thanks again for the info.

[QUOTE=JBatmanFan05;1474273]I'm always gonna side with Year One and Long Halloween or the Golden Age over Knightfall on this. Knightfall's changes were probably motivated by Batman Returns and anyway....Knightfall is about Batman, Bane, and Azrael and less about Catwoman, so that scene deserves to be ignored more as an anomaly. Long Halloween happened later anyway (and it became canon, even though Loeb probably didn't care about that one way or another when he wrote it).

Anyway someone did an article on all this:
[url]http://www.toonzone.net/forums/threads/timeline-of-the-various-batman-catwoman-romances-1st-draft.3987671/[/url][/QUOTE]

Thanks for the link. In the comments someone mentions how when launching the 1990s Catwoman DC didn't want much interaction between Catwoman and Batman and how controversial that was. All things considered, I think that was the right approach to the Catwoman book. These days where Batman's presence in her book is so much greater than in his combined books, it just makes it all so one sided.

I thought these questions would have been answered in the Golden Age Batman books or maybe in one of the Catwoman solo series. Boy was I wrong.